Theme

I think the theme of my portfolio will be the "journey". I've learned a lot in this class, especially things I could actually use in the future. Eventually, I really want to launch a website dedicated to my photography and it's great that I know the properties of a good and bad website.

2 Project revisions

I definitely want to revise my enthusiast blog because I'm not a great blogger and it's difficult for me to update on a daily basis. Now that classes are almost done and I have less homework, besides studying, I'll have more time to focus on it.

Although I am proud of the work my group did for the website redesign, but I wanna revamp it to make it more creative and to put more detail in the description of the homepage.

Ning Project pt. 3

There were a few times when a member of the group wasn't able to show up to class, but it wasn't a disadvantage at all. The missing member would connect to the rest of the group through Sakai and were able to send us their part of the work.

Ning Project pt. 2

I really got into personalizing my personal profile page. Some of the templates weren't appealing, but then I found one I really liked, but not in a color I liked. So I saved the background image, opened it in Photoshop and tweaked the colors a bit. Then I uploaded it. I was able to change all the blues into purples through Photoshop and by editing the HTML. I'm very happy with the outcome.

Ning Project

This project started out well. We were able to decide quickly on what we wanted to do this project on. We were also able to carry things out smoothly. The website itself was easy to navigate, but I felt it was a little bit cluttered. I don't understand why updates from our personal pages had to come up in the news feed of the main page. Our personal pages don't have anything to do with the main page.

Danah Boyd vs. W. Lance Bennett

Social Network Sites

I actually knew a lot about social network services before reading this article. Mostly based on personal experience. I'm a part of several social network sites: Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and SocialVibe. All these sites are so convenient! With Facebook, I can keep in touch with out of state friends; and as a film media major and a photography minor, YouTube and Flickr is extremely useful to promote my videos and photography; and with SocialVibe, I can help the world!

Every few years or so, I'd go visit some relatives in China. And, at the time, I was shocked to see my cousins using the social network sites that I use! I wasn't aware that these sites were available across the globe. I was even introduced to some Chinese networking sites. Instead of AIM or MSN messenger, my cousins used QQ. Obviously, we exchanged screen names so we could keep in touch. When I tried to install QQ onto my laptop, turns out, it's all in Chinese. And, unfortunately, I can't read. So, my cousins installed MSN Messenger. But, of course, things just couldn't work out. Because of the time differences, everytime I was online, my cousins would be sleeping and vice versa. Now we just send each other emails and keep in touch through Facebook.

And obviously, these networks are good for businesses. They're all free, and because so many people use these networks, it's easy for businesses to promote themselves.

I dread the day my parents get a Facebook.

Five causes and or issues.

Vegetarianism
Gay Rights
World Hunger
Pollution
Endangered Species

The Creation Museum pt 3

Overall, the outcome of this project is good compared to the original site. We've changed some minor things according to the peer review. I feel like if there was more time, I could spruce things up a bit, make it more interesting. It seems a little bit bland to me.

The Creation Museum pt 2

Today, our group has undergone some peer review. We've gotten a lot of good feedback. Our peers pointed out things we could do to improve our website. The front page was a little too spaced out and the font throughout the website was inconsistent.

The Creation Museum

My group has chosen to redesign the website The Creation Museum. It's an extremely tacky website. The background is distracting and at first, I thought the website related to astronomy. We've planned to remove the background, add a navigation system and change the coloring. We also decided to change the alignment.

Examples of Good and Bad Websites

An example of a good website would be YouTube. The homepage is very straightforward. The colors used is very basic and doesn't distract you from the point of the website. The only text used is the title of videos, the uploaders, and descriptions. Everything else is mostly just videos.

An example of a bad website would be the James Bond 007 Museum Shop. You would think that a website that's mostly about objects would post more pictures rather than text, but this website is mostly text. And it's cluttered with links. If I was looking to check out an item from a James Bond movie, it'd be hard to find exactly what I was looking for. And what if I don't know the name of the object I'm looking for? A picture would definitely help. I think that there should also be categories, perhaps objects from a specific year/movie or maybe a category based on the actor portraying Bond.

The title of the website is also misleading. The James Bond 007 Museum Shop doesn't actually sell anything.

Palmquist Response

I feel that websites should be straightforward, so as to not confuse the viewers. After reading this chapter, I find that organizing a website in linear sequence is probably the most easiest and simplest. The hierarchy organization seems very limiting and confusing. You can't move across one page to another page in the same level of hierarchy.

I suppose the interlinked organization wouldn't be as simple as the linear sequence, but it would be the best. Here you have easy access to every single page on the entire site all in one spot. A combination of all the organization options seems like it would be the most complicated to put together.

Wikitravel: Boston Chinatown draft

I go to Chinatown a lot, I just don't pay attention to the English names or street names. But, I'll make sure to find out the exact name and locations.

Eat

• Bao Bao Bakery & Cafe, 77 Harrison Ave., Phone: +1 (617) 988-8191, Daily: ??? Fairly cheap. A bakery with a large variety of Chinese styled pastries. Very delectable. ‎
  

Wikitravel: Manual Of Style

After reading the Manual of Style on Wikitravel, I feel that the following tips are important for those who wish to be apart of Wikitravel.

The rest of the Main Page should not be changed without first discussing it with the community. The mission statement is dear to many people's hearts.

Any drastic changes to the Main Page would definitely alter they way Wikitravel wants their page to look like. From what I read, Wikitravel wants their Main Page to look professional and to not scare any potential readers away.

Articles should be relatively self-sufficient so that travelers can print them out, put in their back pocket, and use for traveling around.
This is definitely an important tip. It's pretty self explanatory. I wouldn't want to print several pages of information to carry around. I want something easily accessible and easy to look through. I don't want to spend my entire trip trying to find things on a bunch of paper.

How do you know if a certain subject gets its own article?

A common test to determine whether a subject gets its own article is the "can you sleep there?" test. While there are numerous hotels and other lodging options in a city like London, you can't sleep in a museum or park within that city; such parks and museums should thus be listed as attractions within an article about the city.

Wikitravel

I honestly could not think of anything that wasn't already done except one.

Boston-Chinatown
There's already an article about Chinatown, but it's no where near enough. It has a listing of places to eat and touches on things to do. It doesn't list anything under the "Drinks" section. But there's a ton of places to go to in Chinatown and a lot of specialty stores that it didn't mention. Also, it doesn't mention any events/festivals that occur during the Chinese holidays.

First Post

I finally posted something yesterday. It was kind of lengthy, but I incorporated some pictures. Hopefully it wasn't too boring and non-photographers were able to understand.

Enthusiasts Blog So Far

I've filled out the about me section and the description. I think it's accurate enough to tell my audience what my blog is about, and of course, everything about me in relation to my topic. I haven't posted anything yet, but I'll do that soon. I hope my readers will be able to understand the technical aspects of the blog.

Enthusiast Blog

To be honest, the majority of my enthusiast blog is opinionated. Art is the production of something beautifully, visually or emotionally appealing. If you feel like you need to do something drastic and unheard of to get your point across, by all means, do so. There are no rules in art, only guidelines. There is no wrong way or right way in art. This blog is here to give other photographers and aspiring photographers some inspiration and ideas based on my own experiences.

I Enjoy Shooting Thing

Five Potential Ideas...A little more defined

The ideas I came up for my clubhouse blog were too broad, so I'm going to try to narrow them down.

Photography:
I could blog about the varieties of photography equipment. I'd obviously target photographers. I'm sure there are people who want to get into photography, and are unsure of what types of lens to use or which cameras would be best. Possible title: "I Enjoy Shooting Things."

Music:
There are many genres of music, but I'll blog about less mainstream music. Maybe just artists I'm really into. I could target the fans of my favorite artists or other people who are into the same genres.

Movies:
There are a ton of movies out there. But I can focus on books made into movies. I'd target people who have read the books or have watched the movies and are curious about the book.

The design of my blog would be simple, yet colorful. I'll incorporate a lot of pictures, so the audience won't be bored of just reading.

Five Potential Ideas

Five potential ideas for my own clubhouse blog:

-Photography
-Music
-Video Games
-Anticipated Movies
-YouTube Videos

Stefanac, Suzanne. Dispatches From Blogistan: A Travel Guide for the Modern Blogger

Do it for love, not money or fame...if your heart isn't in it and the content is forced, your efforts are likely to fall flat and fail to attract a steady audience...

I actually had something like this running through my mind when considering my major. I had no intention of pursuing a career that I didn't enjoy. I'm not a morning person as it is and I didn't want to wake up every morning and just dread going to work. I wanted to be able to look forward to going to work every day. I definitely didn't want to do the same exact thing everyday, I need some variety to keep me interested. That's why I chose to become a Film Media major. Making movies is exciting and I have the options of working on different genres of movies. But, I suppose I'll get to make a decent amount of money as well.

Post regularly and to the point. Aficionados are hungry for fixes and will generally return to blogs that satisfy their interests most often...Don't let too much time pass between posts or readers may get out of the habit of visiting your site...

I agree, wholeheartedly about posting regularly. When a website interests me, I visit it often, especially when I don't have plans or when I'm bored. Which is a lot of the time. When there hasn't been anything new updated in a while, I lose interest fast. Eventually, I'll find something else and forget that the previous website even existed.

Blogging

Personally, I'm not really into writing blogs. To be honest, I'm not really into writing at all. I've never had the talent for it. And it's hard for me to put my thoughts on paper. I was always more into illustrating my thoughts.

The only experience I've had with blogs is just reading a few interesting ones here and there. This is the first blog I've ever had.

What Is Writing?

Writing is one of the many ways of expressing your ideas, emotions, revelations; your thoughts on someone else's ideas, emotions and revelation. It's also a way of passing on information. It's a form of communication. Writing allows you to perfect what you want to say before you tell the world. You can erase words that just don't fit, and replace it with something better. Whatever you write can be honest or fictional, for entertainment purposes only, or whatever your heart desires.

Writing can be found everywhere and anywhere such as the internet, a book, a magazine, a newspaper, a billboard, etc.

My writing environments:
-My dorm.
-Anywhere quiet.
-Wherever I'm inspired.

Rebecca Blood's Blog

http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html

The blogger, by virtue of simply writing down whatever is on his mind, will be confronted with his own thoughts and opinions. Blogging every day, he will become a more confident writer...Being met with friendly voices, he may gain more confidence in his view of the world; he may begin to experiment with longer forms of writing, to play with haiku, or to begin a creative project--one that he would have dismissed as being inconsequential or doubted he could complete only a few months before.

I've always had a difficult time getting whatever is on my mind out. Not that I can't say what's on my mind, but more like wording and explaining. I hope that made sense...maybe blogging will help me become a more confident and better writer. I certainly hope what Rebecca said will apply to me.

Until I read Rebecca's blog, I wasn't even aware that blogs existed 10 years ago. Probably because I never really used the internet til I started high school. I've always wondered how the word "blog" was coined. And now I know.